AVI to DVD for the blinking 12:00 set?

August 29, 2007 8:58 AM

My sister gave me a DVD with some AVI files of video that she took on a recent vacation to Paris. I want to burn this to a normal DVD so that my technophobe grandparents can watch it on their DVD player. Insert blinking 12:00 joke here. How do I do this, preferably for free, using my iMac and it's DVD burner?
posted by SpecialK to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Burn.

You won't get a fancy menu, or any menu at all, but it works.
posted by kindall at 8:59 AM on August 29, 2007 [2 favorites]

You should be able to just import them into iDVD. This will make a DVD with menus and stuff. If they don't like DVD menus, Burn, as kindall suggested, may be a better option.
posted by marionnette en chaussette at 9:09 AM on August 29, 2007

hey! thanks all -- and specialk for posting the question, I was just wondering the same thing (DVD for my mom)! thanks again.
posted by matteo at 9:44 AM on August 29, 2007

If you want to get fancy, use iMovie to clean them up, and maybe add transitions, a soundtrack (from mp3s in your iTunes library, doesn't work on DRMed music files) and also to make multiple movies a single file, which would help eliminate the need for a sophisticated menu. Then use the burn function in iMovie which will export to iDVD to add other functions like a menu, or to create an insert-to-play DVD (to do that make sure the single file is the start-up position in the schematic view of iDVD). BTW the whole iLife suite is wonderfully integrated. I also use iPhoto to include slideshows on the same DVD when I create these a couple of times a year for my folks. They loves watching the grand kiddies on the T and V.
posted by Toekneesan at 10:31 AM on August 29, 2007

Find out what DVD player they have and make sure what you're going to give them will play on it.
posted by cmiller at 11:20 AM on August 29, 2007